Ohioans choose not to raise the bar

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 10th of August, 2023. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST:  And I’m Paul Butler.

First up…life on the ballot.

On Tuesday, Ohio voters rejected Issue 1, a measure that would have raised the percentage of votes required to pass a state constitutional amendment from a simple majority to 60%.

It also would have required citizen-initiated amendment campaigns to gather signatures from all state counties instead of only half in order for a measure to make it on the ballot. But voters turned down Issue 1 by a vote of 57 to 43 percent.

BROWN: Pro-life groups consider Tuesday’s outcome a loss for unborn babies. In November, Ohio voters will weigh in on a constitutional amendment that could add a right to abortion to the state constitution…and that now has a better chance of passing. Polling suggests as many as 58 percent of Ohioans support the pro-abortion amendment.

BUTLER: But just how much did the abortion issue affect how Ohioans voted on Issue 1? WORLD’s life beat reporter Leah Savas talked with voters on election day to find out.

Sound of driving

LEAH SAVAS, REPORTER: A little after 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 8th, Toledo-area Pastor Alan Lenz drove to his polling location to vote in the day’s special election.

ALAN LENZ: So this church where I'm voting is down here on the right-hand side. Oh actually, it’s right here.

Lenz entered and was back out in less than four minutes. It’s a short ballot: Issue 1 was the only item on it.

ALAN LENZ: I voted in favor of the measure.

Lenz understands the concerns about the pro-abortion amendment coming to ballots in November. He’s pro-life, and the abortion issue played some role in his vote on Tuesday. Abortion is currently legal until 22 weeks in Ohio, but the pro-abortion amendment could remove even that protection for unborn babies.

But Lenz had other reasons for supporting Issue 1.

ALAN LENZ: It should be more difficult to change the state constitution. I like the supermajority of 60%. And I also appreciate the fact that to get a measure on the ballot, you have to get signatures from all 88 counties. I think that's important. You get a broader representation of the of the will of the people.

And Lenz wasn’t the only person I spoke to who gave this reason. Several voters mentioned it, including Gina Shiffert. She’s 65, wearing a bright red dress and licking a lollipop.

GINA SHIFFERT: I voted yes.

SAVAS: And why?

SHIFFERT: Because I think it's important for us to take control of the state constitution and, and make sure that other interests don't come into play. So I found that important.

SAVAS: Did abortion at all play into your vote?

SHIFFERT: Not really, although I am, I'm totally against abortion. … But that wasn't really one of the reasons why I voted yes.

Leon McGee, a tattooed man in his late 50s, said he voted yes for Issue 1 because he thought the Ohio Constitution should have stricter amendment requirements…more like the U.S. Constitution. But he supports abortion.

MCGEE: Well, I believe it should be a right to you know, women, if that's what they want.

The only supporter of Issue 1 I talked to who cited abortion as a primary motivation for her yes vote was Jill Schoenlein. She’s a 36-year-old mother with twin toddlers tagging along.

JILL SCHOENLEIN: I'm a really big pro-life proponent. So I definitely came out for that today.

Opponents of Tuesday’s ballot measure that I talked to were more likely to cite their pro-abortion views as a motivation for voting no.

35-year-old Janell Heller-Garcia helped her little boy into the car as we talked.

JANELL HELLER-GARCIA: I voted no.

SAVAS: And why?

HELLER-GARCIA: Well, for a few reasons. I think that the reason that they're actually holding this election is to make it harder to have abortion rights in Ohio, which I don't believe should be a thing…

David Despoth is a 28-year-old who said he and his wife are about to have kids. He opposed Issue 1 because he supports abortion.

DAVID DESPOTH: I believe, ultimately, barring abortion, or any other potential amendment is borderline tyrannical… So that's where I stand is I'm just—I'm not thinking about myself. I'm thinking about my wife, any kids, and you know, anybody else like that…That's specifically why I came out today.

It looked like the campaign against Issue 1 successfully mobilized pro-abortion voters. Meanwhile, from the pro-life perspective, Tuesday’s ballot measure was complicated. It wasn’t just about protecting unborn babies.

Ohio Right to Life blames the loss on out-of-state special interest groups. But some voters—including some pro-lifers—were concerned about other long-term implications of making it harder to amend the constitution. Voter Karen Davis wouldn’t state her views on abortion, but she said she had experience gathering signatures for amendment efforts.

KAREN DAVIS: It is so difficult to get the required number of signatures, I can't even begin to tell you. I have been involved in ballot initiatives that have failed, and it was, we came close… It's mind-boggling to me that it would be made more difficult…This will close the door on any ballot initiative in the future.

Come November, abortion will be on the ballot. And, because of Tuesday’s results, pro-lifers will have to muster more than 50 percent of the votes to preserve Ohio’s pro-life laws and keep abortion out of the state constitution.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leah Savas in Lucas County, Ohio.

LEAH SAVAS: Awesome, well thank you for your time. Have a nice day!

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